Luck or Something Like It
by Skye Maxwell
Summary: Yosuke recruits Minato to help save his stomach from the girls' cooking, but despite their best efforts, things take a turn for the worse. Souji hears Yosuke screaming from across the school and runs to his rescue. Persona Q/3/4. Extreme fluff.
1. The Dipping Sauce Incident

A/N: I was playing Persona Q (the first one), and a request came in from Yosuke called "SOS: Save Our Stomachs!" You can find a playthrough of this request on YouTube, but basically Yosuke asks whatever protag you're playing as to help him not get killed by the girls' cooking. I was playing as Minato and made an excellent hot pot (if I do say so myself), so this story takes place after Minato successfully completes Yosuke's request (but before reporting to Elizabeth in the Nurse's Office). The request got me thinking, "Where is Souji through all of this? He would never knowingly leave Yosuke to fend for himself for that long." And then the scene ended with: "Yosuke's screams echo throughout the school." And Souji is in the school, which means he would have heard said screams…

* * *

Chapter 1: The Dipping Sauce Incident

Souji sprinted down the hallway, barely able to dodge various cultural festival displays in his haste.

He had no idea why, but his Partner was screaming bloody murder, and all he could do was get to his side as quickly as possible.

"Yosuke!" Souji yelled breathlessly, but Yosuke's unintelligible screaming merely continued.

However, it was worse when the screaming stopped. Souji no longer had a sound to run toward, and he could only assume something terrible had happened to make Yosuke go silent.

"Yosuke!" Souji yelled again desperately.

"Partner!" Yosuke choked out from somewhere nearby. "Save… me!"

Souji ran even faster, his right hand reflexively falling to where the sword would normally be at his side in the labyrinth, but he realized there was nothing there.

The scene that unfolded before his eyes was not what Souji had been expecting, but he immediately recognized the gravity of the situation; his Partner was in real danger.

Rise, Yukiko, Chie, and Fuuka were all standing in front of Yosuke, each holding a small container of what looked like sauce and wearing an expression of either guilt or confusion.

Minato was off to the side, looking like he wanted to blend in with the wall behind him.

And Yosuke was on the floor, curled up in a ball and holding his throat as he choked violently.

"It can't be that bad!" Rise exclaimed. "Stop exaggerating!"

Chie chimed in, "Yeah, stop acting like such a wimp!"

"I don't know," Yukiko said uncertainly. "It seems like a genuine reaction. Perhaps our dipping sauces aren't as good as we imagined."

Fuuka asked worriedly, "Shouldn't we do something to help him?"

Chie huffed, "He's fine—don't waste your worry on him."

"But Chie-chan, he doesn't look fine!"

Yukiko observed calmly, "He _is_ a rather unnatural color."

"Oh no, you're right!" Rise exclaimed, not having noticed Yosuke's abnormal hue. "What do we do?"

The girls all recoiled when Souji appeared out of seemingly nowhere, rushing to kneel beside Yosuke.

"Yosuke! Breathe! I'm here. Just breathe."

Once Yosuke seemed to remember how to breathe, Souji looked up and shot an uncharacteristic glare at all four of the girls, causing a chorus of yelps.

"What did you do to him?" Souji asked, the tightness in his voice distinctly intimidating.

Yukiko, apparently the bravest of the group, stepped forward. "We all made dipping sauces for Yosuke to try-"

"That's enough," Souji snapped, not needing any more explanation. Helping Yosuke up off the ground, Souji turned to Minato and instructed, "There's a disposal container for hazardous materials in the science lab. Take the girls there and make sure all of this dipping sauce is properly disposed of. I'm counting on you."

Minato nodded dutifully.

Rise started to complain, "But Senpai, we-"

" _Enough_ ," Souji said again sharply.

"I think I'm gonna be sick, Partner."

"Try and hold it in, okay? You're gonna be fine," Souji said, supporting Yosuke's weight against his side and walking him forward.

Frozen in place, the girls watched the two of them leave, wondering how something as simple as dipping sauce could have caused such a commotion.

"Could it truly be that bad?" Yukiko asked, still not convinced. "Maybe I should try it, just to make sure."

Fuuka said, "I could be wrong, Yukiko-chan, but that doesn't seem like the best idea."

"Yosuke was probably just being Yosuke," Chie said indignantly. "He doesn't know a good thing when it's right in front of him."

"That's true," Rise mused. "But Senpai seemed really upset. I've never seen him like that."

Looking at her shoes, Chie said, "Yeah, he seemed pretty pissed."

"He's usually so even-keeled," Yukiko said. "I feel bad for upsetting him."

Minato suddenly asked, "Shouldn't you feel bad about poisoning Yosuke?"

"Poisoning him?" Fuuka gulped, holding her sauce a little farther from her body.

Chie asserted, "Psh, if Yosuke can't handle what we dish out, that's _his_ problem!"

Minato shook his head grimly. These girls were ruthless.

"Maybe we _were_ a bit forceful with him," Rise admitted, running back over the scenario in her mind.

"I'm gonna try it," Yukiko decided, lifting the sauce to her mouth.

"No!" Minato shouted, swatting the sauce container out of her hand.

It crashed to the floor, the ceramic shattering into pieces and the sauce splattering across the floor.

"Back away slowly," Minato said, holding out his arms in front of the girls to protect them.

They all watched in horror as the sauce ate into the top layer of the wood floor, somewhat like a potent acid.

Fuuka cried, "Is that what's happening to Yosuke-kun's insides?!"

Launching into full-on leader mode, Minato commanded, "I'll clean this mess up. You girls collect every last bit of leftover sauce you have, and then we're all going to the science lab."

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

A/N: The title of this fic is inspired by the title of a Kenny Rogers song called "Love or Something Like It," but the content of that song has nothing to do with this. Lol.


	2. Lucky Cat

Chapter 2: Lucky Cat

Souji stood outside the bathroom stall, arms crossed in frustration at being helpless to stop Yosuke's suffering. He should have been with him in the first place, and then none of this would have happened.

Between his long bouts of throwing up, Yosuke recounted the story of what had happened to him, from the first mention of hot pot in the labyrinth to recruiting Minato's help through Elizabeth to having four different flavors of toxic forced down his throat.

After yet another round of barfing, Yosuke lamented, "The hot pot was so good, too! And now it's all going to waste. I thought I was safe, but I should have known better…"

"I think it was nice of you to try believing in them, even though they clearly didn't deserve that at all…"

"I didn't, though!" Yosuke exclaimed through a hiccup, his voice reverberating against the toilet and the stall walls. "That's why I asked Minato to help, because I knew the girls couldn't be trusted!"

Souji knew it probably wasn't the time to ask, but he needed to know: "Why did you ask Minato, specifically?"

"Uh, I don't know? He seems like a dependable, resourceful guy. He's a really good problem-solver in the labyrinth, and he seems to like helping everybody. I mean, that's why you trusted him to take the girls to the science lab, right?"

"That's all true, but what I meant was, why did you ask him instead of me?"

"Huh? Well, I didn't know where you were. You've been kind of hard to find outside the labyrinth lately. Gah, wait, that's not what I meant to say. Hold on…"

Yosuke started retching again, and the pitiful sound made Souji immediately regret his immature jealousy.

When Yosuke was done, he said weakly, "That _had_ to be the last of it. There's no way there could possibly be anything left in me to throw up."

"Want me to help you up?"

"Yeah," Yosuke said, flushing the toilet. "Help me to the sink?"

Souji pushed the stall door open slowly, finding that Yosuke was alarmingly pale and covered in sweat.

"I'm gonna get back at those girls for doing this to you," Souji vowed as he hoisted Yosuke up off the floor once again.

"Wow, Nice-Guy Souji is going to get revenge for me? That makes me feel special," Yosuke said, trying to regain some sense of normalcy through humor.

"You are special," Souji said as they arrived at the sink.

Yosuke laughed wryly as he let go of Souji and gripped the sides of the sink with both hands.

"Give me a couple minutes? I'm gonna wash up," Yosuke said, looking like he was struggling to stay upright.

"Okay," Souji said reluctantly. "Yell if you need me."

"Will do, Partner."

Souji exited the restroom, only able to stand still for a moment before looking for some other way to help Yosuke. At the very least, he wanted to find a change of clothes for Yosuke since there weren't exactly janitors at this school to clean the bathroom floor he had just been on, plus barfing wasn't the tidiest of activities.

He started going down the hallway, trying one locker after another to look for any items of use. A few of the old lockers came open with a bit of force, and after going up and down the whole hallway, Souji came away with a clean pair of gym shorts, a gym towel, two hoodies, and a reusable water bottle. He filled the bottle at the water fountain and then reentered the restroom.

He silently handed the towel to Yosuke, who gratefully accepted it, running it over his face and through his hair.

In the meantime, Souji looked between the two hoodies he'd found, trying to decide which one to give Yosuke. One of them was white, and the other was a vibrant kelly green.

"I found you some spare clothes," Souji said when Yosuke was done with the towel.

For some reason, Souji's curiosity was piqued at the thought of seeing Yosuke in a color he had never seen on him before, so he handed Yosuke the green hoodie.

Yosuke removed his blazer and draped it over the sink next to his, and then he pulled the sweatshirt on over his t-shirt. He then kicked off his shoes and started to strip off his pants, and Souji subtly looked away, knowing it wasn't a big deal but also not about to be accused of deliberately _watching_.

Yosuke put on the navy shorts and pulled the drawstring tight, since they were a bit big on him. He tucked the strings into the front of the shorts, and then he looked in the mirror, hoping he didn't look like _too_ much of a damn mess.

"That color looks good on you."

"Heh, you think so? Man, I'm so tired. Even just getting dressed felt exhausting."

"Here, you need to hydrate," Souji said, handing Yosuke the water bottle.

"Thanks, Partner. For everything."

"No problem," Souji said, watching to make sure Yosuke actually drank a good amount of water. "If you're tired, there's an empty classroom across the hall you can rest in."

"That'd be nice."

Leaving Yosuke's uniform and shoes behind for later, Souji helped Yosuke out of the bathroom and across the hall. He pushed the door open and flipped the light switch on, and he let Yosuke go, who leaned up against the wall for support.

"Holy colorful," Yosuke remarked, looking around what appeared to be some sort of crafting room. There were shelves and shelves of supplies, seemingly enough to recreate all the displays of the cultural festival ten times over.

"This is actually where I've been hanging out lately, with Kanji," Souji said, seemingly familiar with the room as he searched through a wicker basket in the corner.

"With Kanji?"

"Yeah."

"Doing what?"

Was that a bit of immature jealousy in Yosuke's voice? Souji could only hope so.

"I found him here once, sewing all by himself. He seemed kinda anxious and lonely, so lately I've been coming here to keep him company while he makes stuff. He even taught me how to make a few things."

"I had no idea, man," Yosuke said, letting the tension in his chest unwind a little. "But I'm glad you were there for him."

"I should have told you where I was, though."

Yosuke groaned, mostly at himself. "Are you saying that because of what I said earlier about not being able to find you lately? I didn't mean anything by that. Like, you don't have to tell me where you are at all times or whatever."

Souji shook his head. "I should, though. If anyone should know where I am, it's you."

Yosuke shook his head in return, trying to ignore how good that statement made him feel. "Don't worry about it, man. If anything, I only said that because… well, the real reason I asked Minato instead of you is because, back when we were on the school trip, you and I both had to suffer through the girls' cooking. And I knew something might go wrong again this time, so I didn't want you to have to be the one to suffer with me again."

"Yosuke… if anyone should be suffering with you, it should be me."

Yosuke laughed, crossing his arms. "Because we're Partners? Ha, you're so loyal."

Souji found what he was looking for at the bottom of the basket, and he crossed the room to present it to Yosuke. He seemed oddly shy as he held the white plush cat in front of himself. It was overstuffed in the middle, making it look obese, and its head was uneven, a silly grin splayed across its face.

"Kanji taught me how to make this. I was hoping it would bring you good luck," Souji said, raising its right paw to wave at Yosuke.

"A Maneki-neko?" Yosuke said, surprised that Souji had made him something resembling the traditional Japanese lucky cat.

"This was my first attempt. I wanted to try again, but right now it seems like you need some good luck sooner than later. And I know you probably don't like stuff like this, but…"

Ignoring Souji, Yosuke lifted the plush out of his hands. He examined the goofy face up close and then ran his fingers over the poorly crocheted red scarf around its fat neck. It was when he lifted the floppy right paw himself that he started to lose it.

"Pfft… This is so great. This is so you, Souji. Ha, haha, bahaha…"

"Yosuke?"

Yosuke laughed so hard he started coughing, and Souji had to hold him upright so he didn't fall over.

Souji didn't know whether or not to be offended, or if should just be happy that Yosuke was amused, at least.

"All right. I think you need to go to sleep now."

"But Souji… its _face_ … hahaha…"

Souji quickly moved away and made a makeshift futon, laying out a pile of large blankets on top of each other, plus a bunch of pillows.

"Get in," Souji ordered, pointing at the pile.

Yosuke didn't protest, still laughing lightly as he got in between the blankets.

While Souji typically enjoyed the sound of Yosuke's laughter, this time he was relieved when it finally ended.

"Did Kanji make this?" Yosuke asked, gesturing to the blanket he was under. The yarn was especially thick, and it was a pleasant mixture of various blues, from sky blue to royal blue.

"Yeah, he knitted the blankets and made all those pillows."

"It's soft. And warm." Yosuke concluded through a yawn, "It's pretty."

"Yes, it is," Souji said, smiling as he crossed his arms and leaned back against a desk.

"Wait, how the hell did he have time to make all this stuff?"

"He makes things pretty quickly, but you're right; it is weird that he had time to make all that. Now that I think about it, I can't really remember how long we've been here."

"Me either. But it must have been a while, because these are some gigantic blankets," Yosuke said, rolling around a bit. "You could fit like four people under here!"

"Hm, maybe we should be more worried about this…"

"Come to think of it, even before the whole dipping sauce incident, I was feeling really tired, but not the usual kind of tired I feel in the real world. It was just kind of there, in the back of my mind."

Souji nodded. "Yeah, I've been feeling that too."

"We've almost gotten through three pretty complicated labyrinths. In the real world, it would take us weeks to get through a single dungeon. Maybe we've been here for months, and we just didn't realize it!"

"Months?" Souji said softly, thinking of Nanako sitting at home all alone, wondering where he had gone.

"H-hey, don't make that worried face. It probably hasn't been months. I mean, we couldn't go that long without sleeping, right? Maybe when we get out of here, we'll end up right where we left off. Or maybe, I don't know, it's all some weird dream."

"This is pretty elaborate for a dream."

"Yeah, it feels pretty real," Yosuke sighed. "But there's nothing we can do about it now. We just have to keep moving forward at a good pace without wearing ourselves out. Which is why you should probably get some sleep too, Partner."

"I'm fine."

"What, were you planning on just standing there and staring at me while I slept?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Souji! Don't be a weirdo."

"What if a Shadow escapes the labyrinth while you're sleeping and tries to rip your guts out? Or even worse, what if the girls come looking for you to try more of their deadly experiments? Someone has to look out for you."

"I thought that's what this lucky cat is for," Yosuke said, holding the Maneki-neko over his head and chuckling in its face.

Before Yosuke was done laughing, Souji mumbled a quick "Fine," flipped the light switch off, took his shoes and blazer off, and climbed in between the blankets next to Yosuke.

"If you're gonna keep laughing at it, I can just take it back," Souji said, reaching to grab the cat.

"No way!" Yosuke exclaimed, rolling away from Souji so his back was to him and the cat plush was out of his reach.

Souji flicked Yosuke hard in the middle of his back.

"Hey! That's no way to treat a dying man!"

"You're not dying."

"You don't know how deep the poison went into my system, Souji. It might have seeped all the way into my soul. Jiraiya is probably headed toward the light right now, and here you are _flicking_ me."

Souji reached over Yosuke and pressed his palm against Yosuke's forehead to gauge his temperature.

"You do feel kinda clammy."

Yosuke swatted Souji's hand away. "I was just kidding, man! I'm fine."

"Yosuke, I swear, if you die in your sleep…"

"What, you're gonna kill me?"

"No, I'm gonna destroy that Maneki-neko with the girls' dipping sauces for not protecting you."

"I guess our fates are intertwined now, Cat. Please treat me kindly," Yosuke told the plush, mock-bowing to it.

Souji groaned.

Yosuke chuckled. He liked having something legitimate to pick on Souji about.

When Yosuke rolled back onto his other side, he saw that Souji was staring at the high windows near the ceiling, where the unending daylight was still streaming through. Yosuke put the cat in his face and slowly raised its right paw, and Souji couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Give me that," Souji laughed, snatching the plush from Yosuke and wrapping both arms around it so Yosuke couldn't get it back.

Yosuke propped his head up and told Souji, "You know, it's weird, but I kind of like being here in this place. I mean, the labyrinths are annoying as hell, but out here in the school, it's nice having all of our friends around. I really like everyone on Team Gekkou too. And it's not like the real world where we have other responsibilities or classes or jobs. We just fight Shadows, and then we hang out. I think I'll miss that when this is all over. That's probably really messed up, right?"

Souji shook his head on top of the cat. "I feel the same way."

"You do? Well, that's a relief."

"Why?"

"Well, you're supposedly the sensible one, so any time I'm thinking the same thing as you, it must not be too bad of a thing," Yosuke explained, followed by his biggest yawn yet.

"Huh. Interesting."

"Is it?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, Souji?"

"Yeah?"

"I really do like the cat."

"You do?"

"Yeah. You made it for me. What's not to like? Probably isn't actually lucky, but I'm happy you were thinking of me."

Souji smirked. "If me thinking of you is all it takes to make you happy, you should be happy all the time."

Yosuke said sleepily, "I _am_ happy all the time. Ever since… you came to Inaba…"

Souji waited until Yosuke's breathing evened out to release an audible sigh.

A number of awful things had happened to Yosuke since Souji came to town, but to hear him say that Souji brought him some sort of happiness through it all made Souji's heart swell.

"One day, Partner…" he whispered against the Maneki-neko, his eyes falling closed, "I'll tell you the truth about how happy you make me."


	3. Let Them Be

A/N: In Persona Q, when you pull up Yosuke's character description/data, it says: "…is disappointingly unlucky." His luck stat is literally really low, lol.

* * *

Chapter 3: Let Them Be / Pretty Lucky

It was time for everyone to gather together to head back into the labyrinth, but Souji and Yosuke, both of whom were essential to the whole operation, were nowhere to be found.

Everyone had split up to look for the two boys, and Minato and Akihiko were combing this section of the school together.

"They're not in here either," Akihiko reported, emerging from the restroom. "But I did find a Yasogami uniform and a pair of sneakers. I think they're Yosuke's? You don't think he's running around naked, do you?"

"Don't worry; he's clothed," Minato replied, standing in the doorway of a darkened classroom across the hall from the restroom.

"What?"

"I found them."

"Oh, great! Now we can head to the labyrinth!" Akihiko exclaimed, walking over to Minato.

Minato shook his head, placing a finger to his lips to quiet Akihiko down.

"They're sleeping."

"Then wake them up! A lot of the Shadows in this section are weak to wind, and Yosuke's main persona and the sub-persona you have on Souji both have strong wind skills. We can't afford to go without them."

Akihiko tried to walk into the classroom, but Minato continued to block his way.

Minato said casually, "I was just thinking, maybe we should go to some of the previous floors and help our reserve members catch up?"

"Well, yeah, it's a good idea to keep everyone around the same level, because we never know whose skills we'll end up needing…"

"Right? So you'll help me train them?" Minato said, stepping out of the doorway and gently pushing Akihiko away from the classroom.

"Huh? Of course I'll help you train them," Akihiko said, looking down distractedly at Minato's hands on his vest.

"Good, let's go," Minato said, nudging Akihiko back toward the way they came.

"Wait a second," Akihiko said suspiciously, quickly sidestepping Minato and hurrying over to the entrance of classroom.

Minato reached out to stop him, but then he let his hands fall back to his sides.

"Oh," Akihiko whispered, standing in the doorway.

Souji and Yosuke were on the floor under an intricately-knitted blanket. Yosuke was sleeping on his side, clutching a white cat plush to his chest. Souji was facing him, his arm slung over Yosuke's waist and his chin resting against Yosuke's hair.

Minato sighed from beside Akihiko. "It just looked like a thing that shouldn't be disturbed."

"So that's what they meant by _partners_ ," Akihiko said, before recalling a certain memory that turned his face a deep shade of scarlet. "When Yosuke first said he and Souji were partners, I said that Shinji and I were the same way! Shit, I didn't mean… W-what if everyone misunderstood?"

Minato shook his head calmly. "They didn't. I mean, that would be ridiculous, right?"

Akihiko looked relieved. "Yeah, you're right."

"Everyone knows if someone was gonna be your _partner_ , it'd be me."

"Yeah. Wait, _what_?"

Minato beamed up at Akihiko, and Akihiko's face only went darker.

"Come on, let them be for now," Minato said. "I owe Yosuke one, anyway. I could only do so much to protect him from the girls."

Akihiko didn't move, still puzzling over Minato's previous statement.

"Unless… you want to take a nap too?" Minato said, starting to push past Akihiko into the classroom. "Yeah, I'm kinda sleepy, let's-"

Akihiko stuck out a stiff arm to block Minato from entering the room. "No way in hell," he said ominously, looking at the ground instead of Minato.

Minato hadn't had so much fun in a while.

"Then let's go eat my hot pot first. Yosuke said it was delicious," Minato said, grabbing Akihiko's outstretched arm and dragging him away. "I put a lot of meat in it."

At hearing that, Akihiko let Minato pull him forward a little more easily. "I _am_ hungry. And I've never had your cooking before…"

Caught off guard by that, Minato dropped Akihiko's arm, but as he looked up at him, a smile spread across his face. "If you like it, I'll make it for you again when we get back to the dorm."

"When we get back to the dorm…" Akihiko said softly. "Yeah. I'll look forward to that."

Minato continued forward with his hands in his pockets and a blush on his cheeks, unable to tease Akihiko any further.

* * *

Yosuke yawned, feeling incredibly warm and comfortable and wanting to immediately drift back to sleep. That was, until his brain woke up just enough to realize that something was not normal.

His eyes shot open and his gaze was greeted by Souji's Adam's apple at very close range. Yosuke's whole body went rigid as he took in the entirety of their closeness. Souji's arm was securely around him, his breaths were falling on the top of Yosuke's head, and the only reason they weren't completely pressed together was that Yosuke was hugging the Maneki-neko in his arms.

Yosuke glared down at the cat, thinking it must not be lucky at all since he had ended up in so awkward of a position. But then he tilted the cat's head up and looked at its lopsided smile, and he knew it was ridiculous to blame the thing for his current predicament.

After lying still for another moment, Yosuke realized Souji's arm around him was unexpectedly comforting (as well as very locked in place), so for now he wasn't going to try and fight it.

Yosuke carefully lifted the cat's right paw, and then he suddenly had the feeling that maybe it _was_ lucky. It wasn't often that he got to spend this much uninterrupted time with just Souji, with whom he had very recently been worried about _losing_ closeness. Their proximity, which the sleeping Souji appeared to be comfortable with, was a clear argument against that line of thinking.

The only way the two of them could exist in this quiet little moment together was through a series of extraordinary circumstances, and if that wasn't a stroke of luck, Yosuke didn't know what was.

Feeling a new wave of tiredness, Yosuke hugged the plush a little tighter and scooted closer to Souji.

"Yosuke?" Souji said drowsily, having felt Yosuke shift against him.

Filled with the new wave of affection he had just realized, Yosuke lifted his head, his eyes meeting Souji's.

"Sorry, Partner. Didn't mean to wake you."

Souji didn't reply, partially because the look in Yosuke's eyes was something he had never seen before and partially because he was slowly realizing his arm was around Yosuke's waist.

"Oh…"

"Yeah…"

"Um, I must have put that there in my sleep."

Souji slowly withdrew his arm, and while his sleepy brain was having trouble processing what was happening, he could have sworn that Yosuke looked slightly disappointed.

Souji asked, "How… are you feeling?"

Closing his eyes, Yosuke answered, "I feel really lucky."

Souji cocked his head at the odd answer. "Lucky? Because of my cat?"

Yosuke shook his head. "I feel lucky because of _you_."

Feeling in the pit of his stomach that the conversation might be taking a very crucial turn, Souji slowly sat up, crossing his legs and turning toward Yosuke. He wasn't sure if Yosuke was just saying weird stuff because he was about to fall asleep again, but upon further inspection of his face, Yosuke seemed to be squeezing his eyes shut rather deliberately.

In his most comforting voice, Souji asked, "Care to explain?"

Yosuke frowned, wondering if Souji had picked up on his embarrassment. He knew he'd have to look at Souji again eventually, but he felt like if he did so right now, Souji would somehow be able to pick up on the incredibly deep and _sappy_ feelings he'd tried so hard to keep to himself.

"I don't know if I can."

"Yosuke," Souji said delicately, and Yosuke immediately knew that he was toast. "Just tell me. Please?"

Yosuke opened his eyes, just in time to see the sadness in Souji's expression be replaced by a tenuous smile.

"Aw man, if you ask me all nice like that…" Yosuke whined, blushing. He took a moment to sit up and collect himself, adjusting the Maneki-neko in his lap and plopping his chin on top of its head. "It's not a big deal, really. It's just… I've always been a little unlucky. Even when I was a kid. But I don't know; now I have you, and how many people get to have a Partner as cool as you? Maybe all along, I was just saving all my luck for you."

"Ah," Souji breathed, his smile warmer this time.

Yosuke groaned in embarrassment and let go of the Maneki-neko to bury his face in his hands. "Why'd you make me say all that?"

"Because I wanted to hear it," Souji answered, pulling one of Yosuke's hands away from his face and holding it on top of his knee.

"Huh?"

"If you spent all your life's luck on me, then I want to spend my life making sure you get a good return on your investment."

Yosuke wiggled his fingers a bit against Souji's palm but didn't really attempt to remove his hand from Souji's grasp. "A good return… on my investment?"

Souji nodded, trying to gather the courage to put it more plainly. "I want to make sure you're not disappointed."

"How could I be disappointed with you, Partner?"

Souji just stared at him for a moment; the question was almost too innocent.

Filling the silence, Yosuke mumbled, "Well, you haven't disappointed me so far. But like, you can't 'spend your life' on me or whatever. I mean, the time I've already had with you is… more than enough…"

Souji's throat got tight all of a sudden, and he loosened his grip on Yosuke's hand. "You don't want more?"

"Of course I want more!" Yosuke exclaimed, eyes flashing as he grabbed Souji's hand back. "Uh, time. More time with you. Shit, I mean—wait, no. No, that is what I mean," Yosuke said, his shoulders slumping as he stared into his lap, where the Maneki-neko had fallen sideways.

"Good, because that's what you're getting."

"It is?" Yosuke asked, his voice small as he looked up at Souji.

"Yosuke, you make me happy," Souji said, drawing closer to Yosuke.

"I do?" Yosuke asked shakily, anchoring himself by squeezing Souji's hand as hard as he could.

"Really, really happy," Souji said with a soft smile that allowed Yosuke to believe his words.

"Souji…" Yosuke grumbled, burying his face again in his free hand.

Souji dipped his head under Yosuke's, bumping his forehead against the back of Yosuke's hand. He didn't know what else to say, and the weight of the words he had already said lingered, creating a knot of anxiety inside him. He did know that he just wanted to be close to Yosuke, so he let his head rest there against Yosuke's hand as he closed his eyes.

Yosuke spread out his fingers and looked through them with wide eyes. Souji's bangs were soft against his skin, and behind them, his forehead was radiating heat.

Feeling suddenly impulsive, Yosuke said softly, "Y'know, Partner, there's something I've always wanted to do…"

Now was the perfect time. Letting his curiosity win out, Yosuke turned his hand around and combed his fingers through Souji's bangs in the opposite direction of how they usually fell. As he pulled his fingers away, the bangs sprung back into place.

"No way," Yosuke whispered eagerly, barely noticing how Souji opened one eye to look at him as he ran his fingers through the bangs again, this time pulling them very slightly to try and displace them. This time the bangs ended up a little straighter, but for the most part they still swung back to the side they favored. "They're almost as stubborn as you," Yosuke remarked in awe.

Yosuke tried one more time, but halfway through the motion, Souji leaned into his touch, laughing quietly. This shook Yosuke from his musing, and he let his hand fall to the side of Souji's face.

Souji looked up in surprise as Yosuke swiped his thumb across the pink tinge of Souji's cheek.

Barely audible, Yosuke said, "Yeah. I'm pretty lucky," and then he quickly tilted his head to brush his lips against Souji's.

Yosuke pulled away immediately despite the pleasant electricity coursing through his body, terrified of how Souji was going to react.

Souji had never felt so happy in his entire life.

"Again," Souji breathed shamelessly, his gaze squarely on Yosuke's mouth, the corners of which twitched up into a disbelieving smile.

"What?"

"Kiss me again."

There was no way Yosuke could turn down that request.

Souji received the kiss readily. He was beyond flustered and starting to shake with the rush of adrenaline, but he was just confident enough to slide his fingers into Yosuke's hair and anchor them there. When Yosuke started to pull away again, a small but embarrassing noise of protest came from Souji's throat. Souji hastily pulled Yosuke back to himself, holding him firmly in place and taking the lead on moving their lips together.

After all, Souji had an obligation to affirm the worth of Yosuke's luck expenditures, and now that he had permission, he was most definitely going to fulfill that obligation.


	4. I Ain't Cryin'

A/N: I was gonna end things nice and subtly with Chapter 3, but after I described the plot of the whole story to my roommate, the major feedback was that I absolutely could _not_ end the story where I wanted to and that there needed to be more making out. So thirsty.

* * *

Chapter 4: I Ain't Cryin' / A Sweet Gesture / Double Date

Souji tried to keep his breathing even, not wanting to disturb Yosuke. Souji was sitting with his back to the wall, and Yosuke was tucked against his side, his head on Souji's chest and arms around Souji's middle. Souji wasn't sure if Yosuke was still tired from getting sick earlier or if he was just tired from the kissing (Souji's face warmed at the memory), but Yosuke had been fading in and out of consciousness for a while now.

Souji stroked Yosuke's hair lightly, still not quite believing his luck. Not only did Yosuke share his feelings, but he had been willing to admit them to Souji. _He_ had been the one to kiss Souji first. It kind of felt like a miracle.

Souji had to wonder if this turn of events could have happened in the real world. They were living in a bubble of sorts, in some sort of time-warp-y alternate dimension, and things here felt more… inconsequential. Souji's heart pounded painfully in his chest as he considered that Yosuke might not want to be with him once they got home.

Yosuke shifted against Souji's chest, and Souji tried to regain his calm, breathing low and slow to get his heart rate back down.

 _No,_ Souji told himself, _Yosuke and I are supposed to be together. No circumstances would change that._

He pressed his lips against Yosuke's hair and let them sit there, letting Yosuke's scent reassure him that all of this was real.

That's when the classroom door slammed open and Kanji stomped into the room, flipping the lights on.

Yosuke jolted awake, and once he and Kanji spotted each other, they both started screaming.

Souji smiled as they continued to scream, noting that Yosuke's first instinct was to squeeze him tighter before he scrambled off of him and fell sideways.

"Kanji!" Yosuke yelled as Souji pulled him back up into a sitting position.

"S-senpai! I'm sorry! I didn't see nothin'!" Kanji exclaimed, his face on fire as he looked away from his two friends.

"If you didn't see anything, what are you sorry for?!" Yosuke exclaimed.

"Nothin'! I don't know! I'm sorry!" Kanji apologized frantically, adamantly staring at the ceiling.

"Stop apologizing!"

"Stop yelling at each other," Souji said calmly. "Kanji, tell me what you saw."

"Uh, nothin' important! Just Yosuke-senpai holdin' you. And you kissin' his head. And you lookin' at him all lovey-dovey. Or somethin'. B-but besides that, nothin'!"

Yosuke turned on Souji. "Wait, why were you-"

"Senpai?" Kanji interrupted quietly, finally looking straight at Souji. "Did you… did you finally tell him?"

Souji smiled shyly. "Yes."

Yosuke half-heartedly smacked Souji's arm with the back of his hand. "What does he mean by 'finally tell him'? Why did you… How long have you…" Yosuke's questions quickly devolved into incoherent phrases, and he seemingly gave up, grabbing the Maneki-neko off the floor and hiding behind it.

"And you gave him the lucky cat?" Kanji sniffed, tears starting to well up in his eyes.

"I did," Souji said, knowing what was coming and preemptively standing up.

"I'm so happy for you!" Kanji wailed, rushing forward to hug Souji.

Patting Kanji's back, Souji said, "Thank you."

"Hey!" Yosuke said, appearing at Souji's side. "Stop blubbering all over him like that."

"I ain't cryin'," Kanji sniffled, pulling away from Souji and roughly wiping his eyes with his forearm.

"Hey, Kanji? Please don't tell anyone. Not just yet, anyway," Yosuke requested quietly. "I haven't even had a chance to wrap my head around it yet."

"Your secret's safe with me!" Kanji almost shouted, honored with the burden of keeping their beautiful secret until they were ready to share it with the rest of the group.

Yosuke shouted back, "It's not going to stay a secret if you yell about it!"

Souji suddenly asked, "Kanji, is it okay if I go and spend some time with Yosuke right now?"

"Huh? You don't have to ask me for permission to hang out with your, uh…"

"Partner."

"Yeah, that. Don't worry about me, Senpai. You don't have to spend every second with me while I'm in here. Not that I'm not grateful for all the time you've spent hangin' out with me, because I am!"

"I get it," Souji said good-naturedly, grabbing Yosuke's hand and pulling him toward the door.

"Hold on a sec," Yosuke said, tugging on Souji's hand to stop him. He mustered up the courage to look Kanji in the eye and said, "The blankets you made are really nice. Especially the blue one."

Souji nodded in agreement.

After seeing their joined hands and hearing such an unexpected, genuine compliment from Yosuke, Kanji couldn't hold it in anymore. The waterworks burst forth in full force, and Kanji hugged Yosuke even more violently than he'd hugged Souji.

"Gah! Why are your arms so big?! I can't breathe!"

Kanji abruptly complimented through his tears, "That shade of green looks really nice on you, Senpai!"

"Right?" Souji agreed.

"Okay, that's enough! Get off of me!"

"Kanji, let him go."

"Sorry!" Kanji cried, releasing Yosuke and wiping at his eyes again. "Shit, I'm just so happy."

"We'll see you later, okay?" Souji said, taking Yosuke's hand once more and lightly punching Kanji in the arm as he walked by.

"Y-yeah, see you guys later."

Kanji watched them go, overhearing a few hushed bits of conversation.

"You told him before me?"

"I'm sorry. Something about crafting with another person makes the secrets come out."

"How long…"

"A good while."

"How long is a good while?!"

"I'm hungry. Let's go get some food."

"Don't dodge the question!"

They disappeared through the door, and with a full heart, Kanji wondered if he should make himself a towel to dry up all the tears that he was about to shed.

* * *

Naoto pushed open the classroom door quietly enough that Kanji didn't notice right away. He was huddled on the floor with a blue blanket draped over his head, and he was very focused on knitting something with orange and grey yarn.

"Kanji-kun?"

"Gah!" Kanji yelled, accidentally throwing his knitting needles.

"It's just me, Kanji-kun. No need to be alarmed," Naoto said, crossing the room and leaning down to pick the needles up. "Souji-senpai said you'd be in here."

"Oh, um, he did?" Kanji asked, nervously taking the knitting needles from Naoto's outstretched hand.

"Yes, he said it would be nice if I could provide you some company while he and Yosuke-senpai go to the food court."

Briefly covering his face with his grey yarn ball, Kanji sniffled and whimpered, "S-senpai is so considerate!" He then cleared his throat overly loudly and lowered the yarn ball, looking at Naoto. "Thanks for comin', but you don't gotta keep me company if you don't want to."

"I want to," Naoto said evenly, sitting down on the floor next to Kanji.

"You do?!"

Naoto nodded. "While I truly do like everyone, I find spending so much time with the others, especially the girls, to be quite draining. They can be very… loud, and harsh. This is a pleasant change of atmosphere."

Kanji couldn't help his gape; Naoto preferred to spend time with him because he was not as loud and harsh as the girls? Usually his loudness and harshness were two of the main reasons so many people avoided him.

"This is a nice shade of orange," she said, picking up the other yarn ball and examining it.

"Y-yeah, it's tangerine."

"It goes well with that light grey you've chosen."

"You really think so?" Kanji asked excitedly, having worried over his color choices.

"I do. I'm sure Souji-senpai and Yosuke-senpai will love it."

"That's good to hear," Kanji sighed, but then he caught himself and started to panic. "Shit, I mean, why would it matter if those two like it or not?! This has nothin' to do with either of 'em, and definitely not both of 'em at the same time, so I don't give a shit about their opinions!"

"So you're telling me that this isn't a gift for those two to congratulate them on their new relationship?"

"What?! That totally ain't what this is! I ain't tellin' you nothin'!" Kanji screeched, but then he remembered that she was here because he was supposedly not as loud as the girls. At a more normal volume, he weakly insisted, "That's not it…"

As she pulled the blue blanket that had fallen off of Kanji's head over her lap, Naoto chuckled a bit. "I apologize, Kanji-kun. It seems that I find it amusing to tease you. I already know Souji-senpai's and Yosuke-senpai's secret, and that you also know their secret."

"You know? But how?"

"I _am_ a detective. I've had my suspicions for a while now. Though, if they truly want to keep it a secret, they probably shouldn't walk around the hallways holding hands."

"Ha, so you caught them too?" Kanji laughed nervously, though he was somewhat relieved that he was no longer the only one who knew their secret.

"Yes," Naoto affirmed, slowly running her hand over the blue blanket and admiring it. "Is that going to be a blanket as well?"

"Yeah," Kanji admitted sheepishly. "They seemed to really like that one, so I thought I'd make 'em their own."

"I can see why they like it," Naoto said, removing her hat and shaking the flatness out of her hair. "It's a sweet gesture."

"S-sweet?"

"Yes. A sweet gesture for a sweet couple. I normally don't say such things, but the two of them do seem very well-suited for each other, don't you think?"

Unable to help himself, Kanji mumbled out in one rushed breath, "They're freakin' adorable, and I hope they stay together forever."

Naoto laughed. "Agreed. I sincerely hope they have a long and successful relationship."

The two of them chatted for a while until Naoto fell asleep, curled up under the blanket's warmth. Kanji placed one of his handmade pillows under her head with shaky hands, and then he attempted to focus on perfecting his gift. And even though Naoto's presence still made him a little nervous, overall he was the happiest he had been since they had all entered this world.

* * *

"And now you can put the meat in," Minato instructed, openly admiring Akihiko since no one else was around and Akihiko was too focused on cooking the hot pot to notice.

By the time Minato and Akihiko had found Mitsuru to report on Souji and Yosuke's status, Mitsuru was already furious about the dipping sauce incident. She interrogated Minato to confirm the details of said incident, which only made her angrier at the girls for putting Yosuke, an incredibly important asset to their team, in danger. She had sentenced all of the offending girls, even the two navigators, to 'special training' in the first floor of the Evil Spirit Club. She sent Aigis in with them to lead the operation because Aigis was not afraid of the haunted labyrinth, because she was strong enough to defend the others if needed, and because Mitsuru sure as hell wasn't going to take them in there herself.

When Minato had questioned whether or not that was safe, Mitsuru brushed it off, saying, "It's only the first floor; they should be fine." Minato later found out secondhand that Mitsuru had also recruited the attendants of the Velvet Room (some more easily than others) to hide in the labyrinth and 'give them a good scare—the kind that makes them count their blessings.'

Minato was proud to call such an intimidating woman his friend.

After Mitsuru sent them away, Minato and Akihiko decided to feed her some hot pot to help calm her down. While she ate, the rest of the crew who wasn't in the labyrinth or napping showed up, and they all had an enjoyable time eating Minato's hot pot together.

Everyone had scattered after that, leaving Minato and Akihiko by themselves. Much to Minato's satisfaction, Akihiko had liked the hot pot so much that he wanted to learn how to make it himself, and of course Minato had offered to teach him right then and there.

Minato smirked at the look of concentration on Akihiko's face as he tried to determine just how much meat he could fit into the hot pot. Minato almost didn't have the heart to stop Akihiko from stuffing the pot to overflowing, but he didn't want to be a bad cooking instructor.

"That's enough," Minato said.

"Are you sure?" Akihiko asked, looking disappointedly at all the extra meat that hadn't gone into the pot yet.

"Yeah, you don't wanna overdo it," Minato said, bumping Akihiko out of the way with his hip so he could stir the pot.

Akihiko made a weird noise, and when Minato looked back at him, Akihiko was covering his mouth with his fist and blushing.

"Please ignore the noise that just came out of my mouth and avert your eyes," Akihiko entreated robotically, holding on tightly to the pride that kept slipping through his fingers the longer he spent alone with Minato.

Minato laughed happily and turned back to the hot pot, very much enjoying the effect he had on Akihiko.

"Hey, Minato!" Yosuke greeted, arriving in the food court with Souji at his side. "Making more of your delicious hot pot?"

"We're making it together," Minato said, gesturing to Akihiko with a hot spoon.

"Nice," Souji said.

"Are you guys hungry? Do you wanna share this with us?" Akihiko asked, grateful for the distraction.

"We'd like that," Souji replied.

"Yeah, thanks!" Yosuke said cheerfully. "We're super hungry, and the first batch was so good! I did end up throwing it all up, but that's not your hot pot's fault."

Yosuke went slightly pale at the memory, and Souji patted Yosuke's back.

Akihiko said, "Oh right, Minato told me what happened. How are you holding up?"

"Well, I got all the poison out of my system and got some good rest, so I'm feeling a lot better now!" Yosuke said with an optimistic smile.

"I bet you are," Minato said under his breath, and Akihiko not-so-subtly elbowed him in the ribs.

"What was that?" Yosuke asked.

"The hot pot's almost done," Minato said dismissively. "You two can have a seat."

"Will do! Thanks, man!" Yosuke said.

While Souji and Yosuke grabbed a table, Minato handed Akihiko the spoon and instructed, "Keep stirring. I'll get some bowls to serve it in."

"Whatever you say, Chef," Akihiko said, taking the spoon.

"That's Chef-Sensei to you."

"Shut up and get the bowls!"

Souji watched them from the table and remarked, "They really get along well, huh?"

Sitting close beside him, Yosuke said, "Yeah, they seem like really good friends. Kinda like you and me, Partner!"

" _Exactly_ like you and me," Souji said, raising his eyebrows at Yosuke.

"Exactly like…" Yosuke faltered, realization dawning on him. "You really think so? Those two?"

Souji felt like he understood Minato pretty well for not having known him very long, and if Souji was correct, Minato was crazy about his senpai. He often tried to hide it because he didn't think Akihiko was ready for it, but sometimes he couldn't help but let his feelings come through in subtle little ways that often went right over Akihiko's head.

It all felt incredibly familiar.

Souji nodded. "Definitely."

"Huh. I wouldn't have expected that a guy like Akihiko would be into dudes. Then again, I didn't expect that _I_ would be into dudes, so what the hell do I know…" Yosuke trailed off, looking down at his own hands folded tightly in his lap.

Souji knocked the side of his knee against Yosuke's. "Hey. It's not a bad thing."

"I know," Yosuke said quickly, unclasping his hands and resting the side of his leg against Souji's. "I meant it before when I said I'm lucky to have you."

Souji smiled, and Yosuke couldn't help but give him a warm smile in return.

"We interrupting something?" Minato asked, standing across the table next to Akihiko, who was carrying a tray with four bowls.

"N-nope, nothing at all!" Yosuke yelped, nearly falling backwards off of the bench seat.

Souji, of course, caught him and then held onto him a little too long afterwards, doing nothing to help their case.

Akihiko tried to ignore this, setting out the four bowls for everyone and then taking a seat across from Yosuke.

Minato plopped down across from Souji, bowed to his food to preemptively thank it for being so delicious, and then said, "Dig in."

The four of them enthusiastically ate the hot pot, with Yosuke raving the whole time that it was even better than the first batch. They all slowed down during their second helping, and Minato and Akihiko caught the other two up on what had been happening with everyone since the dipping sauce incident.

Souji was particularly pleased to hear about Mitsuru's 'special training' for everyone who hurt Yosuke. He would have to thank her later.

After they had all eaten their fill, Minato looked around and then said casually, "This kinda feels like a double date."

"What?!" Akihiko screeched. This time, he was the one falling out of his seat, except Minato just watched him fall, not reaching out to try and stop him. "Shit," Akihiko said dejectedly from the floor.

"D-double date?" Yosuke said nervously. "Why would you say that? Me and this guy? We couldn't go on a date! Because we're not… we don't…"

"We saw you in the crafting room," Minato said bluntly, ignoring Akihiko as he climbed back up into his seat beside him. Putting a nail in the coffin, Minato added, "On the floor. Together. In a pile of blankets. Cuddling."

"We were _not_ cuddling!" Yosuke cried defensively. "Not on purpose! Not at first, anyway. Shit…"

"Don't worry. We didn't tell anyone."

Securely back in his seat, Akihiko grumbled, "Stop roping me into things."

Looking at Minato, Souji explained, "We just figured things out for ourselves. We aren't ready for everyone to know yet. Kanji and Naoto accidentally found out, and now you guys, but no one else knows. So please keep it to yourselves for now."

Minato nodded silently, and that was all the reassurance that Souji needed.

"I'm sorry, Partner," Yosuke said, kicking the floor with the tip of his shoe. "I'm the one who's not ready. I promise I'm not embarrassed of you or anything."

"It's okay. I know," Souji said, taking hold of Yosuke's knee under the table and shaking it a bit. "We'll tell everyone when we're both ready. And they'll all be happy for us."

"All right," Yosuke agreed, and then he looked up at Minato and Akihiko. "But you guys have to act surprised, okay? Chie is gonna kill me if she thinks she was the last to know."

Minato gave the silent nod again, and Akihiko said, "You got it."

"Thanks, guys," Yosuke said, laughing. "Sorry that got weird for a minute."

Minato shook his head. "This is the best double date I've ever been on."

Akihiko threw his hands in the air. "This is not a double date. Why are you being so insistent about that?"

Minato said flatly, "Because I ship us. And I ship that," he said, pointing at a surprised Souji and Yosuke.

Akihiko had no idea what Minato was talking about. "Ship? Like a big boat?"

"No. Ship, as in relation-ship, as in a romantic relationship, as in _I want to date you_."

"His game is intimidating," Souji whispered to Yosuke, who just nodded in agreement.

"What? You… seriously want to date me?" Akihiko asked, dumbfounded.

"Why do you think I've been flirting with you this whole time?"

"Because you think it's fun?"

"Well, yeah, but it's only fun because I like you," Minato said matter-of-factly. "I wouldn't play with your heart if I didn't want to stay with your heart."

" _Seriously_?" Akihiko faltered, so incredibly embarrassed that he almost wanted to get hit by a real ship and drown.

It was then that Akihiko noticed that Souji and Yosuke were watching very closely, seemingly captivated by the situation unfolding before them.

Looking back to Minato, who wore a somewhat similar expression, Akihiko requested, "Can we talk about this somewhere else?"

"Yes!" Minato answered emphatically, practically leaping out of his seat.

Akihiko sighed and followed after him, not chancing a look back at his audience of two.

While they were walking away, Minato nonchalantly took hold of Akihiko's hand and said, "Wow, that's a nice glove. I can see why you would wear it all the time."

"What are you doing?" Akihiko asked in a hushed voice, pulling Minato so he would walk faster.

"Walking with you."

"You know that's not what I mean!"

Minato took a moment to look over his shoulder and smile mischievously at Souji and Yosuke, lifting his hand to wave a quick goodbye.

Souji and Yosuke waved back uncertainly, wondering if they should be concerned but ultimately deciding to let them be.


	5. Look Forward to It!

A/N: Here's the last chapter! If you guys like Minato x Akihiko, I will be posting another (more serious) story for them soon. The prequel is up now.

I actually haven't finished playing PQ yet, so we'll see if the rest of the game inspires anything else. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5: Mozzarella / Perverts / Look Forward to It!

As soon as they were alone again, Souji placed his hand on top of Yosuke's.

Yosuke looked down at their hands and then opened his fingers, letting Souji's fingers fall between his.

He then asked bluntly, "Do you think they're gonna go make out?"

Souji answered, "I hope so."

"Dude…"

Souji shrugged. "People who like each other should be together." Then he lifted Yosuke's hand and kissed his middle knuckle.

"Sheesh, what's with you wild cards? You're so cheesy."

"I'd call it more 'romantic and endearing.'"

"Endearing, huh?" Yosuke said, smiling at Souji. "Yeah, I guess that's about right."

Eyes bright, Souji said suddenly, "Kiss me again."

"H-hey! You can't just go ordering me around like that all the time."

"You're right," Souji conceded. "I'm sorry. _I_ will kiss _you_ ," he declared, moving in on Yosuke.

Souji's kiss was soft and slow and so full of affection that Yosuke thought his heart might explode.

He was so in love with this boy that he almost couldn't stand it.

With sudden urgency, Yosuke whispered, "We should go make out too."

"What?" Souji asked, hoping he hadn't just heard wrong. "A-are you sure? Not that I'm not sure if I want to, because I am definitely sure that I definitely want to. It's just, we kinda just did that not too long ago, and I thought you might not want to again so soon-"

"You're talking too much," Yosuke teased. "Time works differently here, right? I took a nap; we talked to Kanji and Naoto; we ate and went on a double date, or whatever that was. The last time… could have been months ago."

Souji smiled brilliantly and then gave Yosuke a quick kiss on the forehead. "Point taken; let's go," he said, pulling Yosuke out of his seat and out of the food court. "There's another empty classroom I know of, far away from the crafting room."

"Good thinking, Partner."

"That green really looks good on you."

Yosuke snorted. "Yeah, you said that earlier."

"I chose that sweatshirt because I wanted to see that green on you," Souji admitted out of nowhere as they continued to speed walk. "There was a white sweatshirt too, but I wanted to see you in the green one. And I don't regret it, because that green looks really good on you."

"What's going on with you, man? You're babbling, plus you're spilling embarrassing secrets? Do you always act like this when you like someone?"

"No. I only act like this when I love someone."

"Souji! That is _so_ cheesy!" Yosuke reprimanded.

"If the truth is cheesy, then call me mozzarella."

Souji frowned at his own statement and then said, "Wait. I'm sorry. I'm kind of dizzy right now. From the wanting to do the kissing. I don't know what's coming out of my mouth. Please don't leave me."

"I just want you to know that I am genuinely horrified right now. I'm still gonna kiss you, like a lot, but, you know… genuinely horrified."

"Thank you," Souji replied, relieved his complete loss of cool wasn't repelling Yosuke. They arrived at the aforementioned classroom, but Souji hesitated, not sure if he was in his right mind.

Yosuke was the one to step forward and push the door open. "Come on, Mozzarella."

Immediately after, Yosuke started screaming yet again, and Souji peeked around him, only to see a disheveled Akihiko jumping away from Minato, who was sitting on top of a desk.

Akihiko swiftly tripped over the leg of a chair and ended up in a heap on the floor. Keeping his face buried, he said in a defeated, muffled voice, "We would appreciate if you two would return the favor and keep this to yourselves."

"For now," Minato added with a smirk, wiping the corner of his mouth on his sleeve.

"Forever!" Akihiko tried to yell, but it came out disappointingly weak.

"Best double date of all time," Minato said, giving the other boys a thumbs up.

Souji returned the thumbs up, but Yosuke pushed his arm down and then started to back away.

"Well, we're leaving now! But uh, good luck? Congratulations? Gotta go, bye!"

Yosuke shut the door way too hard behind himself, breathing heavily.

Souji said, "Plan B: there's a safe zone with no Shadows on the first floor of the Group Date Café. Let's go there."

"Sure, let's just get away from here, ASAP."

As they were walking, Yosuke contemplated aloud, "Is that like, a thing? Wild cards being gay?"

Souji chuckled. "Yeah, wild cards and their boyfriends. Super gay."

"Okay, yeah, I get it. Shouldn't have asked."

Changing the subject, Souji said rhetorically, "Time works differently here, yeah? If so, I want to make out with you for _months_."

Yosuke played along with his dorky Mozzarella. "How many months?"

"At least three."

"Three? That's a quarter of a year. That's a whole season!"

"A Season of Love."

"Don't make Rent references. You know that musical makes me sad."

"Sorry. I'll focus on making you happy," Souji said, pressing a kiss to Yosuke's cheek.

"So cheesy," Yosuke sighed.

"Take me, baby, or leave me."

"No Rent references!"

"Sorry, I had to. Also, don't leave me."

"I won't leave you, sheesh," Yosuke said. "I can't ever leave you, right? Didn't you say you owe me a lifetime of luck?"

Before he could take the words too seriously and get caught up in his feelings, Souji said jokingly, "Yeah, for the rest of my life, you can get lucky with me whenever you want."

Yosuke stopped in his tracks, falling dramatically to his knees and burying his red face in his hands. "If you make me die of embarrassment, neither of us is getting lucky, ever."

"Wait, no, live. We're almost there," Souji said, trying to tug Yosuke up off the ground.

Yosuke was dead weight, not budging. "I don't know if I wanna go in there now that I know what you want to do to me."

"Not in detail."

"What?!"

"Okay, maybe I shouldn't have said that, but wouldn't it be worse if I didn't want to do things with you?"

"Noooo," Yosuke droned, clasping his hands over the back of his head like the ceiling was about to come down on him.

"I won't try anything weird."

"You promise?"

"I swear by the obese stomach of the Maneki-neko: in the upcoming period of time when I am alone with Yosuke, I will only engage in making out with him and activities which do not fall under the umbrella of 'getting lucky,' as defined by Yosuke."

"Fine, let's go," Yosuke said, getting up and walking quickly ahead of Souji.

They eventually reached the entrance of the Group Date Café, and after surveying the area to make sure they weren't being watched, Souji and Yosuke entered the labyrinth, high-tailing it toward the safe area.

They only had to fight one group of Shadows, but they were weak and easily taken down by just the two of them.

After a bit more running, they reached their destination. Trying to catch his breath, Yosuke said, "I think we're finally alone, Partner."

"Fantastic," Souji said, ignoring his own breathlessness and pulling Yosuke to himself. "I changed my mind. I'm gonna make out with you for _twelve_ months."

"Five-hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes?"

"I thought you said no Rent references!"

"I couldn't _not_ make that reference."

"Fair enough. Can I make one more reference?"

"Fine, but only one."

"With a thousand sweet kisses, I'll cover you," Souji said, and then he gave Yosuke the gentlest, sweetest kiss he could muster.

Yosuke pulled back to laugh, and when he couldn't stop, he buried his face in Souji's shoulder and continued laughing.

Souji pressed his nose into Yosuke's hair and laughed too, mostly at himself. He really _was_ cheesy. Good thing Yosuke liked him anyways.

* * *

"I smell them this way!" Teddie exclaimed.

Koromaru barked in affirmation and then ran ahead of the group.

Moments later, he came running back with a kelly green hoodie in his mouth.

As soon as Minato took it from him, Koromaru took off again in the same direction.

"Uh-oh," Minato said quietly, sharing a concerned glance with Akihiko.

Minato had tried to stop everyone from trying to find Souji and Yosuke, but with a quick scan, Rise's and Fuuka's personas had found them in the Group Date Café labyrinth.

Koromaru reappeared, this time with a white t-shirt in his mouth.

"Hey, isn't that Yosuke's?" Chie asked, spotting the red birds on the front of the shirt when Koromaru dropped it on the ground.

"It appears so," Yukiko said, watching Koromaru run off once more. "But why would Yosuke be running around the labyrinth shirtless?"

Rise commented from outside the labyrinth, "Yeah, only a real pervert would run around half-naked."

"Why are you looking at me?" Akihiko asked irritably when he noticed Minato looking him up and down.

"No reason."

Koromaru returned, this time with a white button-down shirt that had an abnormally high collar.

"This is Sensei's!" Teddie cried, sticking his nose in the shirt and taking a big sniff. "What kind of monster has ripped the clothes off of my precious Sensei?!"

"You think a Shadow did this?" Chie asked, scratching her head.

"But all the clothes appear to be perfectly intact," Yukiko said.

Standing a safe distance away from the group with Kanji, Naoto pulled the brim of her hat low and said, "Their deduction skills are a bit subpar, I must say."

"Well, I probably wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself," Kanji replied, still not quite getting what was happening despite knowing the nature of Souji and Yosuke's relationship.

After examining the evidence, Mitsuru said, "Let's head back, everyone." Her deduction skills were above average.

"What about Sensei and Yosuke?!" Teddie cried.

"Don't we need to rescue them?" Yukiko asked.

"What's going on?" Rei asked sadly, taking a smaller-than-usual bite out of her corn dog.

Mitsuru shook her head. "Those two are fine. If you don't already know what's happening, then you don't need to know. Koromaru, if you could kindly return these articles to where you found them. Everyone else, go get ready to head back into the Evil Spirit Club to resume where we left off. Minato and Akihiko, a word, please?"

The rest of the group, many of whom were truly confused as to what was going on, followed behind Kanji and Naoto toward the exit.

When they were out of earshot, Mitsuru ordered, "I need you two to go retrieve them."

Akihiko asked indignantly, "Why us?"

"I would go myself, but I don't know what state they're currently in and would prefer not to bear witness to anything… risqué. The four of you are close, aren't you? You all went on a double date recently, did you not?"

"It was _not_ a double date!" Akihiko insisted. "How do you even know about that?"

"I find out everything eventually," Mitsuru replied, almost wishing that it wasn't true at this moment. These gay wild cards and their boyfriends were starting to give her a headache.

"Everything?" Akihiko asked feebly.

"Everything," Mitsuru said, poking the tip of Akihiko's nose with her index finger.

Akihiko went red as Mitsuru turned with a flourish and strode away from them.

Minato snickered. "You got booped."

"Shut up. Let's just find those two idiots. Lead the way, Koromaru."

* * *

Thankfully both Souji and Yosuke were still clothed from the waist down when Minato and Akihiko found them.

Not so thankfully, Souji was on top of Yosuke, and the two of them were making out so intensely they didn't even notice they weren't alone, just like they hadn't noticed the multiple instances of Koromaru stealing the clothes they had tossed away so carelessly.

Turning his back to them, Akihiko cleared his throat as loudly as possible, and Koromaru followed it up with a loud, happy bark.

"Holy shit!" Yosuke yelled as he spotted the three of them and Souji promptly rolled off of him.

Minato walked over and dropped the green hoodie on Yosuke's face. "Time to go."

Yosuke quickly pulled the sweatshirt down to cover his chest but left the hood over his face, wanting to dissolve into the ground beneath him.

"Sorry to interrupt," Minato said. "As much as we would have loved to stay and watch…"

Akihiko yelled, "Who's the pervert now?!"

"…we have to get back to work. All of us."

"We'll be right there," Souji managed to say, sitting up and running a hand through his tousled hair.

Minato handed Souji his shirt, and Koromaru dropped Yosuke's t-shirt on top of his hand.

"Hurry up and get dressed. We'll be around the corner," Akihiko said, already walking away. "Come on, boy."

Minato and Koromaru followed after Akihiko.

"What are you so happy about?" Akihiko asked Minato, crossing his arms and leaning against a wall.

"I ship that," Minato said, pointing back toward Souji and Yosuke.

"Stop pointing, you weirdo."

Minato put his hands on Akihiko's crossed forearms and used them as leverage to lean up and give him a quick kiss.

Akihiko said wearily, "What the hell…"

"Sorry. I was just jealous of how affectionate they are with each other."

"I thought you shipped that?"

"Not as much as I ship us," Minato said softly, placing his mouth a very small, tempting distance away from Akihiko's.

Akihiko gave in, closing his eyes and giving Minato a short kiss.

"No more, okay?" Akihiko said after he pulled away, his ears straining to decipher where Souji and Yosuke were in their process of getting dressed.

"Forever?" Minato asked, feigning worry.

"For now," Akihiko clarified, reaching up to touch the tip of Minato's nose with his index finger and pushing his face away.

"I got booped," Minato said, feeling oddly mesmerized as he touched the tip of his own nose.

"We're ready," Souji said, appearing from around the corner.

Yosuke followed at a distance. He had the oversized hood of his sweatshirt pulled up over his head, as if that could help make him disappear.

The four of them followed Koromaru toward the exit, letting an uncomfortable silence rise up amongst them.

Minato finally broke the silence by asking, "So when is our next double date?"

Yosuke lost his footing and tripped over Koromaru; Akihiko whacked Minato in the back of the head; and Souji calmly suggested, "After our next run in the Evil Spirit Club?"

Minato and Souji gave each other the silent protagonist nod of understanding, solidifying their plans.

"I guess we have no say in this," Akihiko sighed.

Resigned, Yosuke replied, "Well, those two aren't gonna let it go, so maybe we should just, I don't know… look forward to it?"

Akihiko mused, "Look forward to it?"

"Look forward to it," Souji agreed.

"Look forward to it!" Minato chanted, nearly skipping as he grabbed Akihiko's hand and swung it between them.

Koromaru barked, trotting alongside them.

Walking shoulder to shoulder now, Souji and Yosuke observed the other two boys ahead of them.

Yosuke said softly to Souji, "Yeah, I ship that."

"Same. Not as much as I ship us, though."

Yosuke blinked as he looked at side of Souji's handsome face, and then he smiled. "Same here."

"That's a relief," Souji said with a grin, recalling a conversation they'd had earlier.

"A relief? Why?"

"You're my Partner, so any time I'm thinking the same thing as you, it must not be too bad of a thing."

Yosuke knew Souji thought of him as his Partner, but it wasn't often that Souji addressed him in that way. Each instance of it made Yosuke fall in love with Souji even more.

Yosuke took his hood down and confessed coyly, "Well, right now I'm thinking about how I can't wait to pick up where we left off. Are you thinking the same thing?"

"Yosuke… you know I am."

"Then it must not be too bad of a thing," Yosuke concluded contentedly, unmistakable warmth coming through in his voice.

The vibe Yosuke was giving off was like the purest sunshine, and Souji basked in it. Yosuke's adorable expression made a certain need arise in Souji—the need to make one last Rent reference.

Souji cleared his throat, wanting the reference to come out with utmost clarity.

"I'm not sure how to measure time here, but if I measure it in love, then we've been here for an eternity."

Instead of taking Souji's bait to get a rise out of him by making another unapproved Rent reference and being ultra-cheesy, Yosuke dropped his gaze to his own left hand and then reached for Souji, very specifically hooking his ring finger in Souji's belt loop.

Unusually serious, Yosuke said, "Remember when I said you couldn't spend your life on me? I take it back. I'll take as many eternities with you as I can get."

Souji froze in place, momentarily stunned. With his lips slightly parted, he stared at Yosuke's ring finger in his belt loop and then at Yosuke's eyes, which showed to be completely sincere.

Breathlessly and with a heart full of hope, Souji promised, "I'll look forward to it."


End file.
